Google Calls Facebook’s Data Disclosure Deal With The Feds “A Step Back For Users”

Mike Isaac at AllThingsD » Social wrote:

privacy_importantFacebook disclosed information on how many information requests it received from government agencies on Friday, the first a major internet company has been able to do so.

But Google, in a statement released on Friday evening in response, isn’t satisfied with Facebook’s deal with the Feds.

“We have always believed that it’s important to differentiate between different types of government requests,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “We already publish criminal requests separately from National Security Letters. Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users. Our request to the government is clear: to be able to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately.”

To be clear, Facebook’s data disclosure deal with the federal government comes on the heels of a knock-down, drag-out battle behind the scenes with lawmakers in Washington over the past week. Consumers were on high alert after reports from the Guardian and The Washington Post suggested that major tech companies in the Valley were sharing private customer data with the government via a National Security Agency program, codenamed PRISM.

Companies across the Valley lobbied hard, both in public and private, to be able to disclose to consumers the number of requests for information they received from the government, and how many of those requests they’ve complied with. Google was the most outspoken of the bunch, with other companies like Facebook and Yahoo following suit.

What Google seems to be arguing here, however, is that Facebook’s deal isn’t a win for consumers who want more transparency. As Facebook’s deal stands, tech companies are allowed to release information requests in aggregate and within specific ranges — meaning you can’t drill down on which agencies are making the requests. In other words, with the numbers Facebook is providing, you’re seeing requests from state, local and federal agencies, and there’s no way to differentiate the quantities from each.

Microsoft followed Facebook’s lead on Friday evening, releasing its own aggregate numbers for information requests for the six month period ending December 31st, 2012. It too, however, agreed with the overall sentiment desiring greater transparency.

“With more time, we hope [the U.S. Government] will take further steps,” Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel John Frank wrote in a company blog post. “Transparency alone may not be enough to restore public confidence, but it’s a great place to start.

Update 9:20 pm PST: Twitter legal director Ben Lee issued a statement via tweet on Friday evening, largely echoing Google’s sentiment:

“We agree with @Google: It’s important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests—including FISA disclosures—separately.”

One source said Facebook continues to fight for greater transparency. Google will do the same, however has not come to an agreement with the federal government in its own separate discussions.

Original: Google Calls Facebook’s Data Disclosure Deal With The Feds “A Step Back For Users”

6 Rules for Engaging Younger Customers or Members

Joshua Paul at Online Community Blog wrote:

If only it were that easy…

If only you could pick the right technology and young people in their twenties and early thirties would flock to your organization, starting lasting conversations out of thin air, and become the future leaders of your customer or member community.

If only Twitter was the solution to getting younger customers to use your products. If only your organization’s online community software platform was the sole key to grooming the next generation of advocates. If only your $10,000 mobile app could get and keep the attention of Millennials.

If only it were that easy.

While Millennials do believe that their use of technology sets them apart from other generations, that characteristic is not necessarily going to lead to higher engagement. Often times the pace of technology adoption at established companies and membership organizations leads to frustration among younger members and customers.

Online & Mobile Technology: Does More Usage Mean More Engagement?

The population of young professionals in the United Stated is almost completely saturated with technology use. In numerous studies, this age group is pushing over 90% in usage of social networking sites and mobile devices.

It is commonly thought that communicating over these channels is the way to connect with this younger generation. However, without the right plan and value behind the communication, your message may get lost in the noise.

How Can More Technology Usages Mean Less Share of Their Attention? (hypothetical example)

Rules for Attracting and Engaging Younger Customers or Members

The point is that simply using a specific social networking or mobile channel does not guarantee engagement by younger members of your target audience.

So, what does work?

Just like engaging any customer or member, your success comes down to value. While making your messages and engagement opportunities worth your target audience’s time does not change across age brackets, motivations and the other media and content that your organization’s messages are competing against are different with younger generations.

How to Engage Younger Customers or Members

Rule #1) Pump Up the Value

Due to this demographic’s heavy use of technology, they have a lot of information coming their way. It can seem like a fire hose at times from the outside, but this level of “information overload” is normal for most Millenials.

Companies and membership organizations really need to think about where younger members are in their lives and careers. Then, align their messages with what is important to people at that stage of life, as well as where they want to go.

Example: According the Pew Research, just 31% of Millenials say that they don’t make enough money to live the way that they would like to live, but they are more optimistic than past generations that they will have enough money in the future. Highlighting a path to get there faster might be an attractive message to Millennials.

Tip: Assume that your messages and engagement opportunities don’t carry enough value to cut through the noise. Continuously push the envelope in regards to making your communication important to your younger customers or members.  

Rule #2) Make Messages Actionable

Why do we check out cell phones 15 times an hour? The same psychological drive that causes us to check Facebook multiple times a day or scroll through our Twitter stream every time we pick up our phones can play to your advantage when engaging younger members or customers.

Information alone does not lead to engagement. Shape your engagement communication around a desire engine, like the one outlined by Nir Eyal.  Once you find a trigger where your message will penetrate this audience, it is important to provide some type of variable reward and an action where customers or members can make a small commitment (usually of time and attention), like leaving a comment, rating something, viewing a video, or sharing a photo.

Rule #3) Empower New Leaders

Many younger members or customers already have leadership experience. In college or in their personal lives, they have lead membership organizations of dozens (maybe even hundreds) of people. Many younger customers or members have gotten a taste of leadership and they like it (and many are very good at it too). However, when they enter the workforce, they are back to the bottom of the ladder.

Their hunger to lead and make their mark is a great engagement opprtunity for your organization. Identify leaders among your younger constituents and empower them will some level of responsibility. Examples include:

  • Writing a column for your customer community’s blog.
  • Running a group in your online community.
  • Hosting a video show or podcast.
  • Planning an event (Tip: Try partnering with a group of younger customers or members to plan an informal “meet and greet” for other younger people.  

This empowerment shows them a path toward further participation, gives them visibility into the organization, and provides recognition by veteran members. It also positions them as a model for other younger customers or members to get involved.

Rule #4) Make Participation Easy and Accessibility

There is a large portion of your customer base that doesn’t have much experience in your field or with organizations like yours. Unlikely customers or members that have had a relationship with your company for a while, younger customers or members don’t have a deep understanding of the value of engaging your customer or member community.

In addition, these younger customers or members have a low tolerance for poor customer experiences. They are likely to “change channels” if engaging your organization is difficult to process mentally or takes too many steps accomplish physically. Avoid burying the actions that they can take and rewards that can reap from small amounts of engagement.

Rule #5) Leave Your Salesperson Hat at Home

There is a time and place to push your products and services. However, when you are trying to spur participation from a generation that grew up online and is accustomed to free information, tamp back your need to sell.

Millenials can smell a sales pitch from a mile away and will steer clear of veiled marketing messages. They also have long memories, so a little sales messaging can hurt engagement for an extended period given all of the other information sources coming at your target audience. Talk about them and what they will get out of participating, rather than talking about your organization and your offerings.

Rule #6) Test with Personas

Develop a composite profile of your typical target customer or member in their twenties or early thirties. Include data like:

  • What are their short-term and long-term goals?
  • What does their day look like (think about commutes, workdays, evenings, and weekends)?
  • Who do they interact with and report to?
  • How do they spend their time online?
  • Where do they get their information?

Then, test your communication and the value of your messages through the eyes of your persona.

Customer or Member Engagement Takeaway

Each customer segment has their own set of priorities, goals, and communication preferences.

Younger customers or members are no different. Whether it is a seasoned executive or a group right out of college that you are trying to engage, it all comes down to value. How strong a reason are you giving for them to devote time, money, and attention to your message and your organization?

If you can get the value equation right, then you will find success engaging younger members or customers in a variety of communication channels – from private online communities on your website to public social networks to mobile devices.




Original: 6 Rules for Engaging Younger Customers or Members

Pre-Launch: Awareness and Relationship Building

Richard Millington at The Online Community Guide wrote:

The first people that join a community will do it through a commitment to you, not a commitment to your mission. 

For this to happen, people need to know and trust you. This means increasing awareness and building relationships.  

It’s hard to launch a community for an audience that doesn’t already have strong relationships with your team. You can’t launch it and hope for the best. You need to begin building awareness and trust months before you open up the platform.  

Begin this process at least three months before the platform is ready to go live. The more time you spend on this, the faster your community will grow.  

We use a four-elements framework for this; participate, create, host, and interact.

Participate

  • Identify and participate in existing discussions. Be genuine, ask questions, get advice, give advice when you feel ready.
  • Attend as many in-person meetups if you can. The cost of sending someone to another city/another country for a meetup is always worthwhile.

Create

  • Launch a blog/newsletter/e-mail series on the topic. 
  • Publish white-papers based upon interviews and case studies you’ve picked up from the community. 

Host (organize)

  • Organize a series of popular events on the topic. This will begin with a tiny number of people, but will grow gradually.  
  • Host and attend meetups, even if just a tiny number of people attend – a tiny number if enough to get a community going. 

Interact

  • Contact 5 to 10 people a day for 3 months. Reach out to them and sustain these discussions.  
  • Schedule interviews with the top experts in your space. Discuss how they might be able to promote their material in the community. 

During this time, never ask members to join a community or do anything that benefits you. Your goal is simply to tackle the awareness and trust stages. Ensure that people know you and that they trust you. 

By the time you launch the community, you should have a huge number of people you can invite to participate. 

Original: Pre-Launch: Awareness and Relationship Building

Creative People: Listen to Your Community, But Don’t Let Them Tell You What to Do

Patrick at ManagingCommunities.com wrote:

I tell people to listen to their customers and their community. You should. But what I’ll never tell people is to do whatever their community tells them to do or, worse yet, orders them to do. This is especially true for creative professionals: musicians, singers, actors, directors, writers and performers of all kinds. I was [...]

Original: Creative People: Listen to Your Community, But Don’t Let Them Tell You What to Do

Oxford English Dictionary Adds Expanded Definitions Of “Follow,” “Follower” And “Tweet”

Allison Stadd at AllTwitter wrote:

A true sign of the times: the Oxford English Dictionary has expanded its entries for follow (verb), follower (noun), and tweet (noun and verb) to include the social media senses of the words.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Original: Oxford English Dictionary Adds Expanded Definitions Of “Follow,” “Follower” And “Tweet”

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